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Dancer and Unicorn
Tableau: it might be nice to suggest simple narratives using these toys.
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Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Four cardboard toys: knight, emu, unicorn and horse
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Knight-Errant
Emu, perhaps.
Unicorn
Horse (detail of neck and head)
Some questions
At what point is a representation so abstracted that it ceases to convey the thing it purports to? Using only cocktail sticks and corrugated card, and limiting oneself to glue to join elements, what can one come up with?
Would it be a good idea to paint the pieces? Or would that be to take them away from that playful abstracted area where the mind is teased into the area of mere imitation?
They are not refined. Does that matter? Is it nice to see how simply they are constructed?
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Monday, April 3, 2017
A visit to northern Peru- conclusions, carriers
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Northern Peru: the complete set of 23
Conclusions
I regard the trip as a success. Given the terrible rains shortly after my departure, I was extremely lucky with the weather, losing only a couple of days.
And most of the pictures are good. I enjoyed painting in Peru. No-one annoyed me as in North Africa where children throw stones and people are often difficult to deal with. The Peruvians are pleasant and straightforward I find, though their food is extremely eccentric to say the least, their breakfasts especially bizarre.
I shall try to revisit Peru next summer, this time for a little longer- six weeks perhaps. Or would it be good to try to go Ecuador- Peru? That might be more fun, more adventurous.
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Carriers
The carriers served well, except that two paintings were irreparably damaged. This happened in one of the double carriers and the moral is that the double carriers are not good for transportation for any distance as there is a high chance they get pressed tight and the two pictures with are stuck together- much as did not happen to this work, happily:
Two from Cajabamba: undamaged
Ergo, the function of the double carriers is limited to their use on a particular painting excursion. Then, the pictures are best left to dry for about a week after which one of the pictures should be removed and put in a separate container for transportation.
This seems like a lot of hassle but it isn't really. There is never a perfect solution to combining travel and painting: any system that is perfectly secure for the paintings will inevitably become very cumbersome.
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A visit to northern Peru- part five- Cajamarca
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These two last pictures were from my stop-off in Cajamarca on my way back, where I stayed at the lovely Jazmines Hostel.
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Cajamarca: north-west from the centre AVAILABLE
oil on card, 16 x 16.5 cm
Cajamarca- Plazuela Chontapaccha, oil on card, 155 x 16.5 cm - unavailable
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A visit to northern Peru -part four- Cajabamba
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Cajabamba is a pretty town, nestling in some fine hills, perfect for painting. People there seem to do more or less what they like and the place has a pleasant, unhurried air. I could happily have spent a few more days here.
Cajabamba, small houses behind a ravine, oil on card, 14 x 15.4 cm -unavailable
Cajabamba, outskirts, oil on card, 16 x 18 cm -available
Cajabamba, a view, 18 x 15 cm - available
These two -above and below- seem to me to be among the finest of the trip. They're fluent and confident, and seem to me very much of the place they depict.
The mountains near Cajabamba, oil on card, 17.2 x 15 cm - available
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A visit to northern Peru- part three- Banos del Inca, Cajamarca
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I took the bus up into he Andes to Cajamarca. But because of Carnaval I couldn't find a place in the centre at first so I stayed down in a resort called Banos del Inca, notable for hot springs and soft hills.
I worked quite happily and this set of pictures is very good, I think, often much influenced by Cezanne.
A hill, Banos del Inca, Cajamarca, oil on card, 15.5 x 17.2 cm - unavailable
A hillside, Banos del Inca, Cajamarca, oil on card, 15.7 x 17 cm - available
A bridge, Banos del Inca, Cajamarca, oil on card, 13.5 x 17 cm unavailable
A view towards a river, Banos del Inca, Cajamarca
oil on card, 15.5 x 17.2 cm - available
Street before Carnival, Banos del Inca, Cajamarca, oil on card, 14 x 16 cm - available
Somewhere near Banos del Inca, Cajamarca, oil on card, 13 x 16 cm- unavailale
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A visit to northern Peru- part two- Trujillo
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It was very hot and dusty in Trujillo which is visited mainly for the archaeological ruins close by, though it has nice Spanish architecture and a handsome central square.
There was something about the place that made me feel heavy and slightly depressed and I am glad I was only there for a few days. I heard later from a taxi-driver that the city is overrun by criminal gangs and extortion racketeers and drug traffickers.
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Trujillo, view from the Wanka Hotel, oil on card, 12.5 x 14 cm - sold
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